Gardner Minshew was benched in Week 6 after a 34-18 loss to the Broncos, but 2023 fourth-round draft pick Aidan O’Connell broke his thumb in Week 7 and is now on injured reserve. The Raiders signed former University of Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad last week, but Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo expects they will stick with Minshew as the starter for now.
Minshew started hot against the Chiefs last week, completing his first eight pass attempts and leading Las Vegas to 10 points on their first two drives, but had a critical turnover in the fourth quarter when he fumbled after a sack. The Raiders twice got inside the Kansas City 5-yard line with all four downs and managed just three points out of those drives after a third-down sack led to settling for a field goal and a fourth-down sack ended the second attempt.
“They scored 20 and probably could have had 23, 27 against a really good Chiefs defense,” Anarumo said. “He started with the Colts last year, so we saw him, and saw a few years ago with Jacksonville. We’ve seen him a few times and he’s capable. He’s a good quarterback.”
Despite starting just six games, Minshew is the third most sacked quarterback in the league this season with 22 sacks taken, and he leads the league in turnovers with 11, including eight interceptions. He averages 196.7 yards passing over his seven total appearances and is completing 67.6 percent of his passes.
Rookie first-round draft pick Brock Bowers has emerged as the team’s top receiver, recording 535 yards on 52 catches and one touchdown. The tight end was selected No. 13 overall but was a player some were hoping would fall to the Bengals.
“I remember sitting in on the draft meetings on some of those guys and you just watch him on the college tape and after he got the ball in his hands it’s when he really became a factor,” Anarumo said of Bowers. “He’s a good route runner, can go get the ball. Against Denver earlier this year he had a 57-yard touchdown just going up and taking it away from the safety. He can do it all. He’s leading the league (in tight end yardage).”
The Raiders traded Davante Adams to the Jets two weeks ago, so outside of Bowers, it’s been Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker leading the wide receiver corps. Las Vegas’ running game, led by Alexander Mattison’s 265 yards rushing, is one of the four that are less productive than Cincinnati’s, and the Raiders rank 26th in scoring offense with just 18.0 points per game.
Defensively, Las Vegas is in the top half of the league in yards surrendered but ranks 27th in points allowed (26.3 per game). Defensive end Maxx Crosby will be the main focal point for the Bengals, as he has 6.5 sacks in seven games this season and remains one of the best at his position. Linebacker Robert Spillane has a team-leading 79 tackles and safety Tre’von Moehrig has two interceptions.
The game Sunday also brings a familiar face back to Cincinnati as former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis serves as Antonio Pierce’s associate head coach. This will be his first time back on the sidelines at the former Paul Brown Stadium since his departure following the 2018 season.
Lewis, the Bengals’ head coach for 16 seasons, starting in 2003, won four AFC North titles with Cincinnati and guided the team to seven playoff appearances, but never won a postseason game. He was named Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year in 2009 and is the franchise’s winningest coach with 131 victories.
“I’ve always been a big fan of his,” said Bengals associate head coach and special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons, who was a long-time member of Lewis’ staff in Cincinnati. “He’s the reason I’m here. I’ll always have a high degree of respect for him believing in me enough to bring me here as a young guy when a lot of others probably would not have done that. It’s good to see him still in the league. He’s doing something he’s very good at. He’s helping coach the coaches, I think that’s really what he’s doing. A young head coach there who has not been in that role before. They have the perfect guy to help him do that in Marvin. He has seen so much in this league. He has such a history in this league as a defensive coordinator, a position coach and a head coach. He can be an immense help to that staff, especially coach Pierce.”
SUNDAY’S GAME
Raiders at Bengals, 1 p.m., FOX, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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